I have a confession to make.
As much as I love the musical The
Sound of Music, I only have one soundtrack from it – the original Broadway
cast. At some point, I really do intend
to buy the Julie Andrews movie version, but there are a couple songs that the
movie cut I loved. However, that sound
track I have has some issues, and I’ve wanted to replace it for years. Enter the Cast Recording from the recent The Sound of Music - Live, and I’ve
found exactly what I’m looking for.

All of your favorite sounds from the musical are here. We’re talking “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,”
“Climb Every Mountain,” Edelweiss,” and “The Sound of Music,” among
others. However, if you are only
familiar with the movie, some things are going to be different here. The movie changed the order around, but this
one sticks to the order from the original Broadway play. When I was in the play in college, I must
admit the new order took a little getting used to, but once you do, you won’t
mind at all.

The only change this disc makes as far as songs go from the
original is the song that Captain Von Trapp and Maria sing after they fall in
love. Here, we get the song from the
movie, “Something Good.” Honestly, I
don’t care for either of the love songs, so I’m ambivalent about this.

The soundtrack uses a full orchestra, as it should. The instruments sound amazing, and it’s easy
to get swept up in the beauty of the music.

And the singing? It’s
wonderful. Carrie Underwood’s acting as
Maria was criticized in the movie (and rightly so), but if you watched the
movie carefully, she came alive whenever she was singing. That means there are no issues whatsoever
with the songs she’s in. (And honestly,
the couple of lines she speaks on the recording are better acted than Mary
Martin’s acting at the same spots. Yes,
I went there.) The rest of the cast is
great. The kids don’t miss a note. Audra McDonald is amazing as Mother
Superior. Stephen Moyer has a great voice,
so his songs as the Captain are top notch.
Rounding out the main cast of singers are Laura Benanti as Elsa (the
Captain's ill-fated love interest) and Christian Borle as Max who both do fine
jobs as well.

So let’s talk about those two songs cut from the original movie. Both are songs that Elsa and Max sing. Captain Von Trapp joins them on the second
song. From the first act, there’s “How
Can Love Survive?” Elsa and Max sing this
song to the Captain as a bit of a joke.
The idea behind it is that, since the Captain and Elsa are rich, they
have no struggles to overcome, so how can they possible make it. After all, the famous couples in love
overcome great odds. It’s part bragging
(Elsa), part jealousy (Max), and quite funny.

The second song cut from the original movie is the first
song from the second act - “No Way to Stop It.”
Again, there’s some biting humor to the song, but there is a seriousness
underneath it all. It comes as the
Captain, Elsa, and Max are discussing the growing Nazi threat, and Elsa and Max
try to use this song to convince the Captain that he should not try to fight
the Nazi’s. I especially love how
Stephen Moyer plays this song. In the
movie, it was easy to tell how disgusted he was, but it still comes across in
his voice on the recording.

There are some other songs on here that are lesser
known. The disc starts off with the
nuns’ evening prayers. We get the song
sung during the wedding as well as the two dance songs from the party in the
first act. And the final track is the
instrumental piece that pays over the credits.

I have to comment briefly on the fact that this was recorded
in a studio and not the soundtrack taken from the filmed live performance. I can understand why (partly because this was
released before the movie), but I do still find it ironic.

The only flaw I can find with this disc is the fact that
they took out the middle section of “Do-Re-Mi.”
Yes, the song can get repetitive and long, so maybe that is why. But since they included the entire song in
the movie, I’m a little confused as to why it isn't all here on this recording.

Still, that’s not nearly enough to be a deal breaker. I’ve found a new preferred version of the
play soundtrack with The Sound of Music - LiveCast Recording. Still, I’m
going to get the original movie soundtrack some day.

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I'm an accountant by trade but a reviewer at heart. Top reviewer at Amazon. Love to read, watch TV and movies, and listen to music. And I'm always looking to share and discuss what I am currently consuming.

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